tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324061397849159430Tue, 06 Dec 2016 12:08:50 +0000The Great WarElegant EdwardiansTurbulent ThirtiesVivid VictoriansRoaring TwentiesMedieval Times1960'sAmerican Civil WarModern TimesSoccerCricketForgotten HeroesNapoleonicNormans and SaxonsThirty Years WarEastbourne SussexEighteenth CenturyEnglish Civil WarSecond World WarVictoria CrossBritish ArmyChristmasCrimeaGunpowder PlottersThe Dark AgesThe TavernThe TitanicThe Wild WestToday in 21st CenturyTorrid TudorsWhat They SaidYe Olde History TavernCome in, pull up a chair, relax, sample the ale and read stories, trifles and anecdotes from Olden Times.http://historytavern.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (alan1704)Blogger147125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324061397849159430.post-4980671681498722736Tue, 13 Oct 2015 07:01:00 +00002015-10-13T08:01:25.734+01:00Thirty Years WarBeer and the Swedish Army<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2Tuoci3KKSY/UAOjoYgeSMI/AAAAAAAABTM/4GpPY-e7ZzY/s1600/161505_567833452_4914846_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2Tuoci3KKSY/UAOjoYgeSMI/AAAAAAAABTM/4GpPY-e7ZzY/s1600/161505_567833452_4914846_n.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br />Once upon a time, the beers of Munich were deemed “less than satisfactory” for then Duke of Bavaria, Willhelm V. As a result, his demanding household ordered that beer be imported from the town of Einbeck in Lower Saxony. In order to reconcile cost and pleasure, Willhelm’s chamberlain and counselors suggested that a ducal brewery be built. The Duke was delighted, and on the very same day, recruited a monastic brewmaster to plan and supervise construction of the brewery that would be known as Hofbräuhaus.</div><br /><div><br />Wilhelm’s son and heir, Maximilian I had different tastes in beer. Preferring Weissbier (wheat beer) to the then popular Braunbier, and possessing a savvy business sense, he forbade all other private breweries from brewing Weissbier, creating a regal monopoly that would not only support his court financially, but would ensure no less than 400 years of experience in Weissbier brewing for Hofbräu München.</div><br /><div><br />But ducal tastes can be fickle, and in 1613, the court was complaining that Braunbier and Weissbier were not strong enough; they longed for the good old fortified beer from Einbeck. A rather concerned brewmaster (Elias Pichler) got to experimenting and produced the first Munich beer made with Einbeck methods. This “Maibock”, as it was called, would not only satisfy the court, it proved to be the salvation of the city when in 1632, during the Thirty Years’ War, the occupying Swedish army only abstained from plundering and burning the city when appeased with 344 pails of Maibock beer brewed in the Hofbräuhaus brewery.</div>http://historytavern.blogspot.com/2015/10/beer-and-swedish-army.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (alan1704)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324061397849159430.post-6845700810232432189Thu, 11 Jun 2015 09:33:00 +00002015-06-11T10:33:10.713+01:00Forgotten HeroesThe Great WarVictoria CrossForgotten Heroes - Captain James Ernest Newland, 12th Battalion, AIF, V.C.<div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QzHOyHRSTtU/VXlVcYHFo0I/AAAAAAAAIGs/qQ4QToL8ouM/s1600/1511374_10152363284004524_58883398_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QzHOyHRSTtU/VXlVcYHFo0I/AAAAAAAAIGs/qQ4QToL8ouM/s320/1511374_10152363284004524_58883398_n.jpg" width="218" /></a></div><br />Captain James Ernest Newland, 12th Battalion, AIF, Victoria Cross action on 8 April and&nbsp;<st1:date day="15" month="4" year="1917">15 April 1917</st1:date>&nbsp;at Lagnicourt.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">James Newland was born at&nbsp;<st1:place><st1:city>Highton</st1:city>,&nbsp;<st1:state>Victoria</st1:state></st1:place>. He served in the Boer War before becoming a regular soldier. In August 1914 he transferred to the AIF. He took part in the Gallipoli landing; he was soon wounded and evacuated and, later that year, commissioned. In 1916 he went to&nbsp;<st1:country-region>France</st1:country-region>&nbsp;as battalion adjutant,&nbsp;and was Mentioned in Despatches at Pozières.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Newland was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions on three occasions over 7–9 April, and&nbsp;<st1:date day="15" month="4" year="1917">15 April 1917</st1:date>. Near Boursies and&nbsp;<st1:place><st1:city>Lagnicourt</st1:city>,&nbsp;<st1:country-region>France</st1:country-region></st1:place>, he led strong attacks and repelled enemy counter-attacks. "It was [his] tenacity and disregard for his own safety that encouraged the men to hold out." In early May, Newland was again wounded.<o:p></o:p><br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Returning to&nbsp;<st1:country-region>Australia</st1:country-region>, Newland served in the army until 1941. He worked briefly for the Red Cross then joined the inspection staff at Footscray Ammunition Factory, Melbourne, until his death in 1949.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>As well as the Victoria Cross Newland received service medals for the Boer War and First and Second World Wars, the King George VI Coronation Medal, and long and meritorious service medals. The oak leaf denotes that Newland was Mentioned in Despatches.http://historytavern.blogspot.com/2015/06/forgotten-heroes-captain-james-ernest.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (alan1704)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324061397849159430.post-8884915754633896908Thu, 14 May 2015 06:44:00 +00002015-05-14T07:44:45.327+01:00Roaring TwentiesThe Fire Bell<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bwsM-MF11c4/VU9fPFa0mkI/AAAAAAAAH-Y/m4-0YWd4CRk/s1600/wissahickon_ambler_chem-hose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bwsM-MF11c4/VU9fPFa0mkI/AAAAAAAAH-Y/m4-0YWd4CRk/s320/wissahickon_ambler_chem-hose.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">A memory from South Petherton, </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal">“Most dread of all childish night time fears was the Fire Bell. It was rung by smashing a piece of glass to get at the rope and the faster the bell the more urgent the massage to the firemen. The engine was pushed out, the horses fetched and they all got off to a noisy, flying start, to the burning hay or straw or farm buildings.”</div>http://historytavern.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-fire-bell.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (alan1704)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324061397849159430.post-5415422344145720719Tue, 12 May 2015 07:11:00 +00002015-05-12T08:11:37.693+01:00Roaring TwentiesFire Drill<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dnhMuCeO-7I/VU9fDcVtjKI/AAAAAAAAH-Q/We4T4VrNgLk/s1600/o-fd-005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dnhMuCeO-7I/VU9fDcVtjKI/AAAAAAAAH-Q/We4T4VrNgLk/s320/o-fd-005.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">This memory comes from the Somerset village of Axbridge,</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal">“An excitement was the local Fire Brigade, which consisted of a four wheeled horse drawn manual pump operated by local volunteers. It was kept in the Town Hall and the Fire Bell was on top of the roof coming down to a glass faced box at the front of the Hall outside, and one gave the alarm by breaking the glass to ring the bell. There was rarely an actual fire but fire drill was held at quite frequent intervals. The pump was filled manually from the two wells at the bottom of the Church steps. The target was usually Lloyd’s Bank premises, the Manager being the Chief Fire Officer.</div>http://historytavern.blogspot.com/2015/05/fire-drill.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (alan1704)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324061397849159430.post-8693419063078503875Sat, 09 May 2015 10:02:00 +00002015-05-09T11:02:09.055+01:00Forgotten HeroesThe Great WarForgotten Heroes - John Wesley Mitchell, 8th Battalion, A.I.F.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fqfJsBIX-os/USHamUT7dNI/AAAAAAAAD0c/y66tz4gcJ7U/s1600/A150445_246x550.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fqfJsBIX-os/USHamUT7dNI/AAAAAAAAD0c/y66tz4gcJ7U/s1600/A150445_246x550.jpg" width="237" /></a></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">John Wesley Mitchell, was born on&nbsp;<st1:date day="16" month="3" year="1891">16 March 1891</st1:date>&nbsp;at Tarranyurk, near&nbsp;<st1:place><st1:city>Dimboola</st1:city>,&nbsp;<st1:state>Victoria</st1:state></st1:place>, fourth child of Australian-born parents Joseph Mitchell, farmer, and his wife Eliza, née Milkins.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">While working as an engineering cadet at Warracknabeal, Jack served in the Militia and was commissioned (1912) in the Victorian Rangers (later 73rd Infantry Regiment). On&nbsp;<st1:date day="24" month="8" year="1914">24 August 1914</st1:date>&nbsp;he was appointed to the Australian Imperial Force. Five ft 9½ ins (177 cm) tall, with dark hair and blue eyes, he was allotted to 'E' Company, 8th Battalion, which embarked for&nbsp;<st1:country-region>Egypt</st1:country-region>&nbsp;in October. He was quietly spoken and popular, and able to handle 'all the jobs of a subaltern'.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Landing at Gallipoli on&nbsp;<st1:date day="25" month="4" year="1915">25 April 1915</st1:date>, Mitchell was wounded that day and admitted to hospital. He rejoined the battalion on 26 May and on the following day became its adjutant. By October he held the rank of temporary captain and was employed as a company commander. He returned to&nbsp;<st1:country-region>Egypt</st1:country-region>&nbsp;in January 1916, reached the Western Front in March and was promoted major in June. Absent from his unit in July-October when stricken with influenza, he was away again from January to March 1917 attending the Senior Officers' Course in&nbsp;<st1:country-region>England</st1:country-region>. On&nbsp;<st1:date day="14" month="4" year="1917">14 April 1917</st1:date>&nbsp;he was promoted lieutenant colonel and placed in command of the battalion.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Mitchell showed great courage in carrying out reconnaissance. In the operations at Lagnicourt and&nbsp;<st1:place><st1:city>Bullecourt</st1:city>,&nbsp;<st1:country-region>France</st1:country-region></st1:place>, in April and May 1917 (in which he won the Distinguished Service Order) his personal example influenced his men to push ahead and secure tactical positions. On 28 October, although gassed, he remained on duty. During the capture of Rosières Station and the&nbsp;<st1:place><st1:placetype>village</st1:placetype>&nbsp;of&nbsp;<st1:placename>Lihons</st1:placename></st1:place>&nbsp;on 9 and&nbsp;<st1:date day="11" month="8" year="1918">11 August 1918</st1:date>, his battalion suffered heavy casualties; Mitchell twice went forward under fire to reorganize the line; he won a Bar to his D.S.O. For his leadership of the 8th Battalion, he was also awarded the Belgian Croix de Guerre and mentioned in dispatches five times. In October and November he had temporary command of the 2nd Brigade. His A.I.F. appointment terminated in&nbsp;<st1:country-region>Australia</st1:country-region>&nbsp;on&nbsp;<st1:date day="5" month="4" year="1920">5 April 1920</st1:date>.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Employed by the Victorian Department of Lands and Survey as an inspector of land settlement and later as a member of the Discharged Soldiers Settlement Inquiry Board, Mitchell provided practical assistance to former servicemen who settled in the Wimmera and the Mallee. On&nbsp;<st1:date day="2" month="5" year="1927">2 May 1927</st1:date>&nbsp;at&nbsp;<st1:city>St John's</st1:city>&nbsp;Anglican Church, Horsham, he married Margaret Blanche West, a 31-year-old nurse; they were to remain childless. He continued to serve in the Militia, commanding the 21st Battalion (1921-22), the 1st Armoured Car Regiment (1934-38) and the 20th Light Horse Regiment (1939).</div>http://historytavern.blogspot.com/2015/05/forgotten-heroes-john-wesley-mitchell.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (alan1704)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324061397849159430.post-4059694998644262610Sun, 03 May 2015 10:30:00 +00002015-05-03T11:30:27.352+01:00Eastbourne SussexEastbourne's Visitor Newspaper<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cwQ8LM58LDk/VT0iiadXAwI/AAAAAAAAH7c/wyL3pTq32n4/s1600/images%2B(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cwQ8LM58LDk/VT0iiadXAwI/AAAAAAAAH7c/wyL3pTq32n4/s1600/images%2B(2).jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">This inspired idea to get extra readers to the visitor’s paper appeared in The Eastbourne Gazette on 19th September 1916.<br /><br /><b><br /></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>A Gift For Nothing</b><br /><br />Readers of “The Visitor” who wish to obtain a gift for nothing should carry a copy of that paper in their hand. Every Saturday morning a representative of “The Visitor” is on look-out for readers of that paper; and those who are found with a copy in their hands will be presented with a ticket entitling them to a gift which may be selected at the shop of Mr. Dover Williams, Terminus Road, or Messers. Metcalfe’s, Grove Road.<br /><br />“The Visitor” is to be obtained at all local newsagents on Saturday’s price one penny.<br /><br />-------------<br /><br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">“The Visitor” was first published in June 1914, a few weeks before the outbreak of war. The Eastbourne Gazette contained the following announcement.<br /><br /><i>The Visitors’ Special Paper</i><br /><br />A special paper for visitors at Eastbourne has been provided in “THE VISITOR” which contains a view of all the weeks entertainments and other events, all excursions by steamer, motor-boat, motor-coach and char-a-bang; a description of country walks, railway time-tables (with fares), motor bus; many pictures, programmes of dances and much more interesting matter.</div>http://historytavern.blogspot.com/2015/05/eastbournes-visitor-newspaper.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (alan1704)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324061397849159430.post-7759359251747703074Sun, 26 Apr 2015 09:06:00 +00002015-04-26T10:06:19.283+01:00American Civil WarFarm Life In The Civil War<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9-cISQR_ovQ/VTyqW5cRddI/AAAAAAAAH7I/CD9IHAji7Bs/s1600/190079-0906201532123961-p.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9-cISQR_ovQ/VTyqW5cRddI/AAAAAAAAH7I/CD9IHAji7Bs/s1600/190079-0906201532123961-p.jpg" height="214" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">In his excellent short book “A Life Went On” Joe Jeffrey outlines the effect the Civil War had on the small town of Montevallo, Missouri. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">This extract describes how the folk that ‘got left behind’ carried on amidst the raging war all around them:-</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Mrs. Cooper continued, "The women and children who were left behind when the husband or father went off to fight in the war just managed the best they could in the rural areas and of course the small towns too. There were rural stores, small town stores, small town post offices and life went on. Out on the farms they had their livestock, poultry and gardens, things like that. Then the husband would be home on furloughs at intervals. One trading post was over at Fort Scott about forty miles away where they would go by wagon and team and get things cheaper. They would get their sugar and flour there. But then when they would get it home, it would be stolen, some of it. Virgil City, north of here, and old Montevallo, of course, had all kinds of commodities for trade and they had good trade at their stores. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">"While the men were gone, families moved together. My great-grandmother had an aged aunt that came to live with her from the south as the war was in progress --and three of my grandmother's nieces who were teenagers. The younger teenage boys were left to do farm chores and the girls and women helped to get along. She had several different members of her family come to live with her seeking refuge. Some were from down in the boot heel of Missouri. Their family was broken up and their house burned. So she had a houseful of people besides her own family. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">"When the war broke out, the farm was all divided up and sold. My great-grandmother kept an acreage. The house didn't burn in the Civil War, but it burned later on. She rebuilt a two-story house." </span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>http://historytavern.blogspot.com/2015/04/farm-life-in-civil-war.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (alan1704)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324061397849159430.post-3978357133080107084Tue, 29 Jul 2014 18:26:00 +00002014-07-29T19:26:13.204+01:00Forgotten HeroesThe Great WarVictoria CrossForgotten Heroes - Private Joergen Christian Jensen, V.C.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JjPj8dzOvlo/UzuhyqzeBwI/AAAAAAAAHAM/7btSvn1ryDE/s1600/10168106_10152346595119524_1337112681_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JjPj8dzOvlo/UzuhyqzeBwI/AAAAAAAAHAM/7btSvn1ryDE/s1600/10168106_10152346595119524_1337112681_n.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal">Private Joergen Christian Jensen, 50th Battalion, AIF, Victoria Cross action at&nbsp;<st1:place><st1:city>Noreuil</st1:city>,&nbsp;<st1:country-region>France</st1:country-region></st1:place>.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Joergen (Jorgan) Jensen was born in&nbsp;<st1:country-region>Denmark</st1:country-region>. He came to&nbsp;<st1:country-region>Australia</st1:country-region>&nbsp;as a young man and was naturalised in 1914. He enlisted in the 10th Battalion and was sent to Gallipoli in September 1915. Following the evacuation he transferred to the 50th Battalion.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">In&nbsp;<st1:place><st1:city>Noreuil</st1:city>,&nbsp;<st1:country-region>France</st1:country-region></st1:place>, when an Australian advance was checked by a manned enemy barricade, Jensen threw in a bomb and rushed the post. He then threatened the occupants with two more bombs, having extracted the pin of one of them with his teeth, and forced their surrender. A prisoner was sent to a neighbouring enemy party to demand their surrender, but they were fired on by the Australians. Jensen stood up, ignoring the danger, and waved his helmet until the firing ceased. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for his efforts,&nbsp;<st1:date day="2" month="4" year="1917">2 April 1917</st1:date>.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>On&nbsp;<st1:date day="5" month="5" year="1918">5 May 1918</st1:date>, while on patrol near Villers-Bretonneux, Jensen was severely wounded and was eventually invalided to&nbsp;<st1:country-region>Australia</st1:country-region>. Still troubled by war injuries, he died in&nbsp;<st1:city>Adelaide</st1:city>&nbsp;in 1922.http://historytavern.blogspot.com/2014/07/forgotten-heroes-private-joergen.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (alan1704)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324061397849159430.post-7201912461987206671Sat, 05 Oct 2013 08:16:00 +00002013-10-05T09:16:50.497+01:00The Great WarZeppelin DestroyedThese photographs and text were published in ‘The Illustrated War News, on November 18th 1914.<br /><br />It was no doubt comforting reading for the ‘Home Front’ to see pictures of the remains of a Zeppelin, destroyed near Belfort.<br /><br /><div align="center">A ZEPPELIN BROUGHT DOWN: REMAINS OF ONE OF THE MUCH-DISCUSSED GERMAN AIR-SHIPS HIT AND DESTROYED NEAR BELFORT.</div><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_X5zywrdSVPE/S08eU1UfrnI/AAAAAAAAA40/1sPQ3UCeo7I/s1600-h/wn15-32a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426589419263995506" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_X5zywrdSVPE/S08eU1UfrnI/AAAAAAAAA40/1sPQ3UCeo7I/s400/wn15-32a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 112px; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px;" /></a>Debris of the shattered framework;</div><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_X5zywrdSVPE/S08eOTDiOUI/AAAAAAAAA4s/SnURO6ms3OA/s1600-h/wn15-32b.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426589306986838338" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_X5zywrdSVPE/S08eOTDiOUI/AAAAAAAAA4s/SnURO6ms3OA/s400/wn15-32b.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 111px; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px;" /></a>Wreckage of the cars.</div><div align="center"><br />Considering the amount of discussion—not to say, in some quarters, apprehension—to which the Zeppelins have given rise, singularly little has been heard of them so far during the war, and, apart from the Antwerp exploits, they have done practically no damage. On the other hand, several have been destroyed: the number has been variously estimated from two to six.<br /><br />One, said to be the "LZ10," was brought down in October at Grandvilliers, ten miles from Belfort. Our photographs show:</div><div align="center"><br />(1) debris of the shattered framework;</div><div align="center"><br />and (2) wreckage of the cars.</div><div align="center"><br />Another Zeppelin was destroyed in October by the fire of Russian batteries near Warsaw, and its broken remains were taken to Petrograd to be examined. The British air-raid on Düsseldorf also accounted for one or possibly two.</div>http://historytavern.blogspot.com/2013/10/zeppelin-destroyed.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (alan1704)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324061397849159430.post-9095648196704767936Fri, 07 Jun 2013 05:15:00 +00002013-06-07T06:15:18.920+01:00Elegant EdwardiansGillette's Blades<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bX_FwZNGDxk/UbFsF-EtWBI/AAAAAAAAEiM/GxQqjjJ2vEk/s1600/gilette.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bX_FwZNGDxk/UbFsF-EtWBI/AAAAAAAAEiM/GxQqjjJ2vEk/s1600/gilette.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><span lang="EN-GB">In 1895 King C. Gillette had a wonderful idea. He was fed up with having to use a cut razor every morning so he set about designing a wafer thin, incredibly sharp blade that could be held together by a safety clamp. It took him eight years to perfect the design and when it went on sale in 1903, he thought he had been wasting his time for in that year only 51 razors and 168 blades were sold. The following year, however, he knew it had been worthwhile, 90,000 razors were sold and 12,400,000 blades.<o:p></o:p></span></div>http://historytavern.blogspot.com/2013/06/gillettes-blades.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (alan1704)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324061397849159430.post-524574288097750681Tue, 04 Jun 2013 05:52:00 +00002013-06-04T06:52:50.843+01:00Elegant EdwardiansHarrods Escalator<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8h6GJSNK1Fc/Ua2ATwfOi1I/AAAAAAAAEf8/zr7y5QGRNfI/s1600/Harrods_Combined+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8h6GJSNK1Fc/Ua2ATwfOi1I/AAAAAAAAEf8/zr7y5QGRNfI/s1600/Harrods_Combined+copy.jpg" height="141" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><span lang="EN-GB">Harrods, one of the smartest shops in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-GB">London</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-GB">, has always prided itself on caring well for its customers – pandering to their every need. In 1898, Harrods installed the very first escalator in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-GB">Britain</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-GB"> in their Knightsbridge store.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><br /></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><span lang="EN-GB">But in case any of their wealthy customers found the moving staircase too much for their nerves, liveried attendants were positioned at the top to offer smelling salts or brandy to anyone who wished.<o:p></o:p></span></div>http://historytavern.blogspot.com/2013/06/harrods-escalator.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (alan1704)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324061397849159430.post-232556813905514490Mon, 20 May 2013 06:18:00 +00002013-05-22T06:27:56.415+01:00Turbulent ThirtiesCricket and Whisky Don't Mix.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lAt4f82_qAk/UZm_yu25CmI/AAAAAAAAEcs/Qtvopg2LeEg/s1600/44501.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lAt4f82_qAk/UZm_yu25CmI/AAAAAAAAEcs/Qtvopg2LeEg/s1600/44501.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><span lang="EN-GB">Mr A.K. Grabham of Bickenhall, recalls that between 1920 and 1939 Bickenhall had a very good cricket team at staple Fitzpaine, Curland and Bickenhall. The Rector, Rev. Cooke, played himself and took great interest in the team. Lord, Portman, the president of the club, often played himself and arranged games, sometimes getting County players to come and play such as Mr. John Daniell (Somerset Captain) and Mr. Robertson Glasgow and others. Mr. Sammy Woods, an old </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-GB">Somerset</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-GB"> player would come and umpire. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><span lang="EN-GB">“In one match I had made 60 runs, Lord Portman was so pleased that he sent his butler out to the wicket with a drink for me. The butler said, “It won’t hurt you,” so I drank it. I was out the next ball. It was whisky!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>http://historytavern.blogspot.com/2013/05/cricket-and-whiskey-dont-mix.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (alan1704)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324061397849159430.post-109391573927719607Wed, 15 May 2013 05:21:00 +00002013-05-15T06:22:19.928+01:00Elegant EdwardiansSunday School Outing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Mo8mj-XDGX4/UZMbImn3ZiI/AAAAAAAAEbM/sON-5Yq6y6Q/s1600/BS0391+-+Free+Chuch+Outing-S.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="188" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Mo8mj-XDGX4/UZMbImn3ZiI/AAAAAAAAEbM/sON-5Yq6y6Q/s1600/BS0391+-+Free+Chuch+Outing-S.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><span lang="EN-GB">A woman from Enmore, </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-GB">Somerset</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-GB">, remembers a Sunday School Outing to the Quantocks. They set off in a horse drawn wagon prettily decorated by the children towards Will’s Neck Quarry, where they had a “Cold Meat” dinner at the Blue Bell, finishing the meal with Christmas Pudding. The Rector, the Rev. Montgomery, an uncle of the Field Marshall, who had a sense of humour, was in good form – she recalled him serving a slice of cold Christmas Pudding liberally garnished by him with mustard to one of the prim Sunday School teachers.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><br /></div>http://historytavern.blogspot.com/2013/05/sunday-school-outing.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (alan1704)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324061397849159430.post-6412201766819148256Mon, 13 May 2013 05:50:00 +00002013-05-13T06:50:25.554+01:00Vivid VictoriansBuilding Folies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CVDR0Uh8Y-k/UZB-7Qe8OCI/AAAAAAAAEZY/KD2nxDYqrfw/s1600/800px-Erm11.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CVDR0Uh8Y-k/UZB-7Qe8OCI/AAAAAAAAEZY/KD2nxDYqrfw/s1600/800px-Erm11.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><span lang="EN-GB">About 1866 there was much poverty in Yeovil and the surrounding districts. Many poorer people being near to starvation and begging at the larger houses. The Messiter family of Barwick House caused four follies to be erected – ‘Jack the Treacle Eater’, ‘The Fish Tower’, ‘The Ball Tower’, and ‘The Needle’ – preferring to give employment rather than alms; thereby helping to restore dignity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>http://historytavern.blogspot.com/2013/05/building-folies.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (alan1704)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324061397849159430.post-3292800956176719426Sat, 11 May 2013 08:40:00 +00002013-05-11T09:40:03.589+01:00Elegant EdwardiansSign to Pedwell<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ywg6HW5a-zs/UY4Dr7DlhvI/AAAAAAAAEYY/i9tlbBQTcFo/s1600/pedwell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ywg6HW5a-zs/UY4Dr7DlhvI/AAAAAAAAEYY/i9tlbBQTcFo/s1600/pedwell.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><span lang="EN-GB">Mrs Lily Tapscott was born in 1893, in Stout, a hamlet of High Ham, </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-GB">Somerset</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-GB">. She remembers when there was a signpost on the village green which read “Beer” in one direction, “Stout” in another and “Pedwell” in the third.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><span lang="EN-GB">The village lads naturally altered the word to “Peedwell” so regularly that the County Council took the sign down.&nbsp;<o:p></o:p></span></div>http://historytavern.blogspot.com/2013/05/sign-to-pedwell.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (alan1704)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324061397849159430.post-1724697675666735144Thu, 09 May 2013 05:30:00 +00002013-05-09T06:30:09.448+01:00Vivid VictoriansThe Doctor's Car<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RokY_OixgYc/UYs0DRllGSI/AAAAAAAAEXY/-G91RwnICIw/s1600/red_flag_act_1878.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RokY_OixgYc/UYs0DRllGSI/AAAAAAAAEXY/-G91RwnICIw/s1600/red_flag_act_1878.jpg" height="232" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><span lang="EN-GB">The Red Flag Act was repealed in 1896 and Mrs. Grimstone of Halse, Somerset remembers seeing the first car in Bishop’s Lydeard bring driven up the Minehead Road, preceded by a man carrying a red flag. One fine Sunday afternoon she and a friend were going for a walk dressed in their Sunday best when the local Doctor offered them a ride in his car. Very excited to be travelling in a motor – practically unknown in this quiet country village – they accepted, but as they had to get out and help push the car up every slight incline, She said that it took a month of Sundays to get their gloves, hats, scarves all clean again.&nbsp;<o:p></o:p></span></div>http://historytavern.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-doctors-car.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (alan1704)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324061397849159430.post-8359006182843662558Mon, 06 May 2013 15:26:00 +00002013-05-06T16:26:47.472+01:00Elegant EdwardiansLetters for Just One Penny<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HKm_hItLAR8/UYfLS5B3VNI/AAAAAAAAEWI/Rn2UdrAlXd4/s1600/images+(42).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HKm_hItLAR8/UYfLS5B3VNI/AAAAAAAAEWI/Rn2UdrAlXd4/s1600/images+(42).jpg" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><span lang="EN-GB">An elderly lady recalls life before the First World War. She remembered that while in service in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-GB">London</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-GB"> her mother regularly sent her the Somerset Herald.&nbsp;</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><span lang="EN-GB">The postman took the Newspaper by bicycle from Halse in Somerset to Bishop Lydeard station two miles away, then it went by train to </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-GB">Taunton</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-GB">, where it was sorted at the Station; letters then arrived at Paddington and were delivered the same day. If they were taken to </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-GB">Norwood</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-GB">, it meant being sent from Paddington to </span><st1:state><st1:place><span lang="EN-GB">Victoria</span></st1:place></st1:state><span lang="EN-GB">, then to Crystal Palace Station and the journey completed by a postman cycling out to them at about </span><st1:time hour="21" minute="0"><span lang="EN-GB">9.00 p.m</span></st1:time><span lang="EN-GB">….all for just one penny.<o:p></o:p></span></div>http://historytavern.blogspot.com/2013/05/letters-for-just-one-penny.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (alan1704)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324061397849159430.post-5934556121912298978Thu, 02 May 2013 07:07:00 +00002013-05-02T08:07:38.506+01:00Turbulent ThirtiesSix Trains a Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k4OwGLELoXE/UYIQiRMQiHI/AAAAAAAAEVA/Ybj1WlgXD10/s1600/images+(41).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k4OwGLELoXE/UYIQiRMQiHI/AAAAAAAAEVA/Ybj1WlgXD10/s1600/images+(41).jpg" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><span lang="EN-GB">An entry in William Margery’s school book (circa 1930) shows that there were six trains a day from Taunton to Yeovil and eight in the opposite direction, the journey taking a little over one hour. Fares from Matlock were 1 shilling return to Yeovil and 2 shillings and 3 pence to </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-GB">Taunton</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-GB">.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><span lang="EN-GB">There were eight stations on the line all serving the surrounding villages. The line is now closed and there is no longer any direct public transport between Matlock and </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-GB">Taunton</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-GB"> except via Yeovil.<o:p></o:p></span></div>http://historytavern.blogspot.com/2013/05/six-trains-day.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (alan1704)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324061397849159430.post-8449027078713282519Tue, 30 Apr 2013 05:51:00 +00002013-04-30T06:51:24.309+01:00The Great WarGetting home after a few jars of ale<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FLKAqkEAEGs/UX9bF9tGp2I/AAAAAAAAETo/blo8iN2HR88/s1600/superintendents_pony_and_trap_latchingdon_1916_mid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FLKAqkEAEGs/UX9bF9tGp2I/AAAAAAAAETo/blo8iN2HR88/s1600/superintendents_pony_and_trap_latchingdon_1916_mid.jpg" height="205" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><span lang="EN-GB">Recalling conversations just after the First World War of how to get home after a few jars of ale:-</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><span lang="EN-GB">In 1919 I remember my elders discussing how a farmer got home after market and drinks in the pub, when he was tipsy. The relative merits of the familiar pony and trap or the new-fangled car were aired and I remember it being said that the farmer’s own pony was a good conveyance home for him, for they just clicked the word to the pony, which would then take him several miles safely home – but it was not like this with the car. I also remember being driven in a pony and trap and the only protection from the rain was a big umbrella held over all the occupants of the trap – a pleasant idea on a sunny summer day, but very cold on a cold wet day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>http://historytavern.blogspot.com/2013/04/getting-home-after-few-jars-of-ale.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (alan1704)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324061397849159430.post-7960115204068617898Sun, 28 Apr 2013 08:50:00 +00002013-04-28T09:51:30.081+01:00The Great WarANZAC Day - Shrapnel Gully an Account<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XG8svbEH7Kk/UXziY19NVII/AAAAAAAAESs/fNIVUkKy7ag/s1600/images+(36).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XG8svbEH7Kk/UXziY19NVII/AAAAAAAAESs/fNIVUkKy7ag/s1600/images+(36).jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">For ANZAC Day - An personal account of 26th April 1915 in Shrapnel Gully :-</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Corporal Robson D.C.M., 4<sup>th</sup> Battalion, AIF, saw ‘a young fellow get shot in Shrapnel Gully while putting a cross over his brothers grave’. Another time he offered to help ‘a young fellow crawling down to the beach with his hand and half his leg off but he said there were plenty more needed help more than be did and, “Anyway,” he said, “I don’t think I’ll last more than an hour.”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Robson was awarded the D.C.M, “For carrying water and ammunition under heavy fire, taking charge of 50 men, and shooting 13 Turks with a rifle.’&nbsp;</div>http://historytavern.blogspot.com/2013/04/anzac-day-shrapnel-gully-account.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (alan1704)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324061397849159430.post-1771244559062052581Thu, 25 Apr 2013 05:37:00 +00002013-04-25T06:37:10.080+01:00Vivid VictoriansQueen Victoria's Carriage Horse <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sX8H_P5MYhQ/UXjAqpg5lhI/AAAAAAAAEQg/dyG68O8A2bI/s1600/MAA0901121T.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sX8H_P5MYhQ/UXjAqpg5lhI/AAAAAAAAEQg/dyG68O8A2bI/s320/MAA0901121T.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><span lang="EN-GB">In the 1890’s Queen </span><st1:state><st1:place><span lang="EN-GB">Victoria</span></st1:place></st1:state><span lang="EN-GB"> paid a visit to </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-GB">Bristol</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-GB">. Driving up </span><st1:street><st1:address><span lang="EN-GB">Park Street</span></st1:address></st1:street><span lang="EN-GB">, one of her carriage horses cast a shoe, which cab cause irreparable damage to the horse’s foot. The situation was saved by Herbert William Smith, a young farrier, perhaps still an apprentice, who, travelling between jobs, was watching the scene. He had the tools of his trade with him and volunteered to shoe the Queen’s carriage horse. This he quickly did and was rewarded with half-a-crown, a tidy sum in those days. Mr. Smith, who was born in 1878, cherished the coin for the rest of his long life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>http://historytavern.blogspot.com/2013/04/queen-victorias-carriage-horse.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (alan1704)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324061397849159430.post-6477348362242195186Tue, 23 Apr 2013 05:42:00 +00002013-04-23T06:42:14.523+01:00Eastbourne SussexVivid VictoriansSalvation Army Riots<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e1X-TKEOrjo/UXYemmIA3II/AAAAAAAAEP0/5WNzbxX2nsk/s1600/KensingtonAndChelseaSD4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e1X-TKEOrjo/UXYemmIA3II/AAAAAAAAEP0/5WNzbxX2nsk/s1600/KensingtonAndChelseaSD4.jpg" height="195" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><span lang="EN-GB">There were ‘Salvation Army riots’ in </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-GB">Worthing</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-GB">, </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-GB">East Sussex</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-GB"> in the 1880’s and in </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-GB">Eastbourne</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-GB"> in the early 1890s as the evangelical movement clashed with publicans and members of the public who resented the attack on their drinking habits.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><span lang="EN-GB">In </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-GB">Eastbourne</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-GB"> the authorities attempted to enforce a law banning the Salvation Army from ‘marching bands’ on Sundays, but the brave Salvationists carried on anyway – being physically attacked by angry mobs and then being thrown into prison. They were vigorously opposed by the major, William Epps Morrison, who went so far as to ask the home secretary for permission to leave the ‘Salvationists’ to the mercy of the ‘Skelton army’ organised to attack them, but this callous approach was refused. The case of ‘unlawful assembly’ against the Salvationists eventually reached the High Court in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-GB">London</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-GB">, and was thrown out. In 1892, Parliament repealed the clause in the Law which had caused all the trouble, and the Salvationists were able to claim a great and hard-won victory.</span></div>http://historytavern.blogspot.com/2013/04/salvation-army-riots.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (alan1704)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324061397849159430.post-2849677428464850932Sun, 21 Apr 2013 16:58:00 +00002013-04-21T17:58:51.471+01:00Vivid VictoriansThe Railway Arrived In Brighton<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xV81DIw74GU/UXQad6V8KSI/AAAAAAAAEPE/go8-KFT3h2E/s1600/wwwcitylibrariesinfo_00223_s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xV81DIw74GU/UXQad6V8KSI/AAAAAAAAEPE/go8-KFT3h2E/s1600/wwwcitylibrariesinfo_00223_s.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">The railway arrived in </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-GB">Brighton</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-GB">, </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-GB">East Sussex</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-GB"> in 1841, four years after Queen </span><st1:state><st1:place><span lang="EN-GB">Victoria</span></st1:place></st1:state><span lang="EN-GB"> came to the throne, and it changed the town for ever. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">On a day in October 1833, a fleet of stagecoaches had bought 480 visitors to the town from </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-GB">London</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-GB">. That seemed a prodigious figure at the time, but on Easter Monday a single train bought all 1,100 holidaymakers down from </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span lang="EN-GB">London</span></st1:placename><span lang="EN-GB"> </span><st1:placetype><span lang="EN-GB">Bridge</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span lang="EN-GB">. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">This is how </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-GB">Brighton</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-GB">’s population exploded<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54.0pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 54.0pt; text-indent: -36.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB">1841<span style="font-size: 7pt;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB">47,000<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54.0pt; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 54.0pt; text-indent: -36.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB">1861<span style="font-size: 7pt;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB">78,000<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list 72.0pt; text-indent: -54.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB">1881<span style="font-size: 7pt;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></span><span lang="EN-GB">99,000<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list 72.0pt; text-indent: -54.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB">1901<span style="font-size: 7pt;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></span><span lang="EN-GB">123,000<o:p></o:p></span></div>http://historytavern.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-railway-arrived-in-brighton.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (alan1704)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324061397849159430.post-4160752009418381144Fri, 19 Apr 2013 16:58:00 +00002013-04-19T22:32:05.398+01:00The Great WarBarbed Wire in the German Trenches<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F_X5zywrdSVPE%2FTS8FtTIHT9I%2FAAAAAAAAA8I%2FFOLlJkwAQVk%2Fs400%2Fimagep066.jpg&amp;container=blogger&amp;gadget=a&amp;rewriteMime=image%2F*" /></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In his book The Old Front Line, John Masefield describes the German trench defences in the Somme battlefield and their use of barbed wire.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></div><em><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Dug-outs and barbed wire in La Boisselle. Usna-Tara Hill, with English Support Lines in Background. At Extreme Left is the Albert-Bapaume Road.</span></em><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"The defences of the enemy front line varied a little in degree, but hardly at all in kind, throughout the battlefield. The enemy wire was always deep, thick, and securely staked with iron supports, which were either crossed like the letter X, or upright, with loops to take the wire and shaped at one end like corkscrews so as to screw into the ground. The wire stood on these supports on a thick web, about four feet high and from thirty to forty feet across. The wire used was generally as thick as sailor's marline stuff, or two twisted rope-yarns. It contained, as a rule, some sixteen barbs to the foot. The wire used in front of our lines was generally galvanized, and remained grey after months of exposure. The enemy wire, not being galvanized, rusted to a black colour, and shows up black at a great distance. In places this web or barrier was supplemented with trip-wire, or wire placed just above the ground, so that the artillery observing officers might not see it and so not cause it to be destroyed. This trip-wire was as difficult to cross as the wire of the entanglements. In one place (near the Y Ravine at Beaumont Hamel) this trip-wire was used with thin iron spikes a yard long of the kind known as calthrops. The spikes were so placed in the ground that about one foot of spike projected. The scheme was that our men should catch their feet in the trip-wire, fall on the spikes, and be transfixed.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In places, in front of the front line in the midst of his wire, sometimes even in front of the wire, the enemy had carefully hidden snipers and machine-gun posts. Sometimes these outside posts were connected with his front-line trench by tunnels, sometimes they were simply shell-holes, slightly altered with a spade to take the snipers and the gunners. These outside snipers had some success in the early parts of the battle. They caused losses among our men by firing in the midst of them and by shooting them in the backs after they had passed. Usually the posts were small oblong pans in the mud, in which the men lay. Sometimes they were deep narrow graves in which the men stood to fire through a funnel in the earth. Here and there, where the ground was favourable, especially when there was some little knop, hillock, or bulge of ground just outside their line, as near Gommecourt Park and close to the Sunken Road at Beaumont Hamel, he placed several such posts together. Outside Gommecourt, a slight lynchet near the enemy line was prepared for at least a dozen such posts invisible from any part of our line and not easily to be picked out by photograph, and so placed as to sweep at least a mile of No Man's Land.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">When these places had been passed, and the enemy wire, more or less cut by our shrapnel, had been crossed, our men had to attack the enemy fire trenches of the first line. These, like the other defences, varied in degree, but not in kind. They were, in the main, deep, solid trenches, dug with short bays or zigzags in the pattern of the Greek Key or badger's earth. They were seldom less than eight feet and sometimes as much as twelve feet deep. Their sides were revetted, or held from collapsing, by strong wickerwork. They had good, comfortable standing slabs or banquettes on which the men could stand to fire. As a rule, the parapets were not built up with sandbags as ours were.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In some parts of the line, the front trenches were strengthened at intervals of about fifty yards by tiny forts or fortlets made of concrete and so built into the parapet that they could not be seen from without, even five yards away. These fortlets were pierced with a foot-long slip for the muzzle of a machine gun, and were just big enough to hold the gun and one gunner.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In the forward wall of the trenches were the openings of the shafts which led to the front-line dugouts. The shafts are all of the same pattern. They have open mouths about four feet high, and slant down into the earth for about twenty feet at an angle of forty-five degrees. At the bottom of the stairs which led down are the living rooms and barracks which communicate with each other so that if a shaft collapse the men below may still escape by another. The shafts and living rooms are strongly propped and panelled with wood, and this has led to the destruction of most of the few which survived our bombardment. While they were needed as billets our men lived in them. Then the wood was removed, and the dugout and shaft collapsed. "</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>http://historytavern.blogspot.com/2013/04/barbed-wire-in-german-trenches.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (alan1704)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324061397849159430.post-8354434410987924581Mon, 18 Feb 2013 06:50:00 +00002013-02-18T06:50:30.018+00:00Elegant EdwardiansSaved from sailing on the Titanic<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vhf_jWQhJh0/USHOyveSNXI/AAAAAAAADzw/KknnN5mm4RM/s1600/images+(11).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vhf_jWQhJh0/USHOyveSNXI/AAAAAAAADzw/KknnN5mm4RM/s1600/images+(11).jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Emigrations to new counties were seen as a way for families who were very large and there was not enough work in villages. Just before the First World War in High Ham, Somerset a Mr Tapscott who was the youngest of four boys and all three of them emigrated, one to <st1:country-region>Australia</st1:country-region>and two to <st1:country-region>Canada</st1:country-region>. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">In 1912, seven lads from High Ham were booked to sail to <st1:country-region>America</st1:country-region>on the “Titanic” but their passages were postponed because the guests for a big Astor wedding in <st1:country-region>America</st1:country-region>had priority passage. The Astor family paid all expenses which this delay entailed, and probably saved the lives of all seven from being drowned on the liner’s disastrous maiden voyage.</div>http://historytavern.blogspot.com/2013/02/saved-from-sailing-on-titanic.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (alan1704)5